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I am very unfamiliar with these characters so this comic had a disadvantage from page one. It did start off quite well but once the Green Lantern and Green Arrow bail it all gets fuzzy with me. There were a bunch of moments that were probably meant to be powerful but were lost upon me. The overuse of the word JUSTICE! was just silly... this was definitely for DC readers as it should be, I had a hard time caring about any of these characters It would have been much more interesting if it had the big 3 as the spotlight characters, that is who I think of when I think of the Justice League. I did however like the art, very beautiful to look at. One of the things I like about the group is reading books that are foreign to me and I base a lot on how easy a book is to read and enjoy with little or no prior knowledge... that is where this book fails, I have said it once and will say it again... I should not have to wiki a book to enjoy it.

as for next weeks pick, overall it's a pretty shit week in terms of viable options as far as i'm concerned but there is one in particular that should not only generate interest in the group but also should make for some good discussion next week.

Chubbles wrote:I'll post my review later on, haven't had a chance to read it yet.

as for next weeks pick, overall it's a pretty shit week in terms of viable options as far as i'm concerned but there is one in particular that should not only generate interest in the group but also should make for some good discussion next week.

Wednesday Comics #1 it is!!!!!!!

Yay!

It's going to be interesting to see how people review this, each story on it's own? Or an evaluation of the format. Maybe both.

[center]Wednesday Comics #1as selected by Chubbles[/center]
Various Writers and artists.In July, DC Comics gives a fresh twist to a grand comics tradition with WEDNESDAY COMICS, a new, weekly 12-issue series by some of the greatest names in comics today!

WEDNESDAY COMICS is unique in modern comics history: Reinventing the classic weekly newspaper comics section, it is a 16-page weekly that unfolds to a sprawling 28" x 20" tabloid-sized reading experience bursting with mind-blowing color, action and excitement, with each feature on its own 14" x 20" page.

The Justice League has been through some rough times lately, what with final crises, charter member’s deaths and some guy named McDuffie. Fortunately, James Robinson is here to save the day, whipping up on his type writer like he had a big “S” on his t-shirt.

The book starts out with Hal giving the Justice League a speech about Justice. He never quite spells out what his particular concept of Justice is all about, but the reader can see the he is clearly looking at law, righteousness and fairness.

He, as others, are disturbed by the state of the DC Universe after the events of Final Crisis. More than any other story sitting on your local comic shop’s shelves right now, this one actually feels like Final Crisis not only happened, but mattered. Sure Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman’s stories are happening in a darker world, but those tales could have happened with out the events of Morrison’s channel surfing epic. This book embraces Libra’s mysterious mechanics and the tone has been set for a world that is surviving after Evil won.

At its core, this issue is all set up. The reader is given four expert portrayals of characters that cut a wide swath across the DCU. Robinson takes characters as big as Hal and Ray alongside characters as obscure as Congo Bill and Mikaal and shows how they react to the deaths of people that matter to them. The reader gets to crawl in their heads for a moment and then see them quite literally “Cry for Justice.” It’s just a little much. The saccharineness of the conceit may be meant to lighten the tone, but it comes off all a bit Creative Writing 101-ish.

It would be great to report that this is the single flaw of the book. To an extent it is. Often Robinson gets too clever for his own good and this is no clearer then during the Atom sequence of the book. Having two little blue and red guys is confusing enough, but the inner monologue gets muddled when he tries to give it a call and response feel. Between trying to capture the panache of Simone’s characterization of Choi and the clumsy handling of a common comic book trope (even Superman/Batman has employed the back and forth narration more effectively making it all the sadder that the scribe behind Starman Secret Files #1 misses it so badly here), it gets confusing.

The two slight missteps are forgiven as Robinson pretty much knocks the rest out of the park. He reestablishes the comradery of O’Neil’s green buddies. Ray Palmer becomes a fierce beast. The crazy blue alien Starman makes an interesting debut and then just to make the hardcore fanboys forget themselves and squeal for joy, he throws in Congo Bill. The stories are compelling and as half the proposed team for the book, the readers should be given a delightful romp through comic book nirvana.

Cascioli provides his incredible painted art. The character designs are iconic, his action crisp, and the storytelling and emotional resonance is superb.

The artist’s only misstep comes during Robinson’s biggest area of weakness. When he first bursts onto the pages of this comic, Ray is tiny and in costume, but when he grows back to normal size, he is in street clothes. Ryan is in costume at both molecular aspects. It is easy to assume that this was to make the two characters easily distinguishable, however there is no explanation for it. Surely, the internet’s wrath will fall upon me for not knowing the history of the Atom and knowing that issue 324 of Amazingly Tiny Guy’s Adventures showed that he does this, but there needs to be an acknowledgment on the page. Otherwise, the reader, like myself is ripped out of the book, hurting his suspension of disbelief. Given the less then clear script at this point, it only further exacerbates a problem.

Making it all up though is the back matter. Robinson provides an essay showing not only his vast knowledge of comic history, but also his intense love for it. When I read his reflections on the medium, I always wonder what it would be like if he had become a historian instead of a mere comic writer. His passion bursts in his prose in a way that only The Golden Age (hey DC, Absolute this already) and, of course, Starman have done in his comic scripting. As an added bonus we get Wein and Syaf on the “Origin of Congorilla”, a competent way to catch newbies up to speed.

An interesting start to a Justice League story has been long overdue. Here’s to hoping the spark of the writer ignites this story like his best work - his essay certainly shows the necessary enthusiasm.

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Anyhow as far as scoring goes, the story gets a 7 - because the Cry for Justice crap is way heavy handed and the Atom sense is muddled as hell.

The art gets a 9, it would get a 10, but that muddled Atom scene seeps into the art and the artist should have told RObinson to figure some way around it - why the hell does Ray grow big into street clothes?

Overall 8

JLA worth reading again. Thanks Robinson.

Last edited by thefourthman on Fri Jul 03, 2009 11:05 pm, edited 2 times in total.

If you look at what has been happening with the League since before Final Crisis I think you'll realize that a change was needed. Not that McDuffie hasn't done a good job for all the restrictions that he was given, but compared to this first issue, it shows just how pointless and wandering the League has become.

Hal is THE Green Lantern, and Robinson proved that in the first three pages of the book. Loved the interraction between the two Atoms, but my favorite scene had to be with the little known Starman.

Still, this book wasn't great by any means. I'm a big fan of Robinson so I was a bit dissapointed that he felt he needed to throw the word "Justice" at us after the introduction of every character... yeah, we get it.

The art was phenominal! I love this style and it really works. Especially the shot of Hal and Ollie standing side by side as they leave the League. I'd love a framed copy of that for my man-cave!

This was an introduction issue, I realize, and I think it has huge potential; the art is nearly perfect, and the simple story has a Marvel feel that I'm ready to see DC play with, but at the same time, I don't need to be written down to, either.

Story: 6Art: 9My Score: 7.25

Oh, and I bet if Cassandra Cain had been in this somebody would have given it a 10 before they even read it.

ding ding ding ding

although I do agree that the atom scene is horribly written (Zechs can be right about one thing)